The weekend what to do (15-17 Jan)

Joseph Viney digs out John Cooper Clarke, Frank Sidebottom, Janek Schaefer, Davey Arthur and new friends from the dirty bits of snow

Published on January 14th 2010.

Oh, CoopermanPOSTPONED from last year, this Friday (tonight) sees the return of the seminal British punk poet John Cooper Clarke to a Liverpool stage.

Famous for his surreal and gritty stream-of-consciousness poems, such as Chickentown, Kung Fu International and Beasley Street, JCC's combination of attitude, toughness and wit has kept him rolling on through the decades.

First coming to the fore in the 1970s as part of the same Manchester scene that bred no-nonsense groups like Joy Division and The Fall, Clarke has endured as much as his battle-scarred peers and survived.

Whilst always eager to indulge in banter with a baying crowd, don’t expect too much sympathy from the man who once expressed his dislike for the town of Burnley by saying he doesn’t “...like a place where the people look up to the sky and point whenever they see an aeroplane”.

Support is provided by the seemingly immortal Frank Sidebottom, the man famous for his papier-mache head. A double bill that just has to be seen to be believed.*John Cooper Clarke @ Liverpool Masque Theatre – Friday 15th January. Tickets £15, doors at 19:30pm.

Last chance event....THE so-called great switchover from analogue to digital signals in our televisions has been nothing but a bad luck charm.

I can’t have been the only one to suffer from the unexpected and utterly frustrating disappearance of Channel 4 and it’s subsequent replacement with S4C; the Welsh language channel wherein watching five minutes of it is akin to downing Absinthe and listening to Judas Priest records backwards.

Television is derided as the ‘idiot box’ by many (usually whilst being interviewed on the TV news. Now there’s irony) but despite that, the switchover is truly the end of an era in modern technology.

Acclaimed by contemporaries such as Brian Eno, British Composer of the Year in Sonic Art, Janek Schaefer came to the Bluecoat in December for a unique documentation of history.

He made audio and video recordings of the last 24 hours transmission of each of the five analogue television channels (BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Five) with the dying television waves forming

the structure of the work’s soundtrack.

The subsequent exhibition of all this ends this weekend, so those of you keen on being manipulated by sound and dazzled by...well...televisual history, grab the remote and a spot on the figurative Bluecoat sofa.*Janek Schaeffer: Sound Art, until Sunday, The Bluecoat Gallery, School Lane; L1.

Let's be friendlyHas everybody broken their new year’s resolutions yet? No booze/fags/sickies? These are unobtainable goals and you’re just lying to yourself.

It’s easier to set your sights towards the more acheivable aims; socialising more, perhaps learning a new language, reading a book.

This is where the bods at City Socialising step in. To paraphrase the Beatles, you can always get by with help from your friends so why not take the opportunity to stockpile more?

As a bonus the opportunity to take up a beginner’s course in a foreign language is made available. For those of you who may already spreken ze deutsch or other languages besides then you will be granted the chance to pass on some of your knowledge and experience.

Tabac (located on Bold St.) is a lovely, relaxed venue in the centre of town, perfect for a nice glass of wine of a chat with new friends. It's hosted by “Martin, 24”.City Socialising @ Tabac – Saturday 16th January. 2.30pm on Saturday. Free.

Diddly diddy timeIn 1999 Davey Arthur was honoured with a place in the Irish Hall of Fame in Dublin, alongside U2, Sinead O'Connor, The Corrs, The Chieftans, Da Dannan and Clannad. Which pretty much covers them all.

Why? He has thrilled and moved audiences the world over for over 35 years with his matchless skill with which he plays the Irish tenor banjo, didn't you know?

Mostly known through his links to the Furey brothers (A Bunch of Time) from 1979 Davey carries on a completely separate solo/band setup and has over 40 compositions to his credit, many of which have been recorded and covered by other top artists.

Davey performs in a special one off show at Liverpool's Picket this Sunday and it will cost you a measly fiver, should you be so inclined, to share the love.

Luk Yiu - My 'bellyaching' at S4C was done for comedic purposes. Whether that aim was acheived or not is subjective!Curmudgeon - Ultimately I don't watch that much television (what with a huge DVD backlog). We found C4 in the end anyway.